Safety device for obsolete firearms

ABSTRACT

In a typical XIX Century revolver of the type having an unsafe half-cocked safety system, in which a firing pin is movably supported within the hammer, so that any unduly forward motion of said hammer cannot cause the pin to strike on the cartridge primer, and including a mechanism which locks said firing pin to said hammer only when the trigger is acted upon for firing the revolver.

[ 1 July 31, 1973 954,657 4/1910 Stockwe11....1........................... 42/66 982,152 1/1911 Marble.1.............1.... 42/70 F SAFETY DEVICE FOR OBSOLETE FIREARMS [76] Inventor:

Armando Piscetta, 4 Via Macerata, 20139 Milan, Italy Oct. 12, 1971 Primary Examiner-Benjamin A. Borchelt Assistant ExaminerC. T. Jordan Attorney-MichaelS. Striker [22] Filed:

[21] Appl. No.1 188,248

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1 SAFETY DEVICE FOR OBSOLETE FIREARMS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention is concerned with old type firearms, in particular with obsolete revolvers as devised and largely manufactured in the second half of XIX Century, such as Frontier" and Old Far West revolvers, Colts, Smith & Wesson and so on, either restored or of new manufacture to accurately reproduce the original firearm for actual firing of same.

The interest and the historical value of such obsolete firearms is well known. Said revolvers form an important element of the history and legends of western countries. Such small arms are widely appreciated by collectors and also newly manufactured reproductions are in demand, Collectors and amateurs of said historical arms desire also to fire their arms and target competitions are being organized.

The ingenuity of structure and of mechanisms of such more than one century old revolvers is admirable, but such arms must be considered as rather unsafe, according to current modern standards. In particular, the original safety system of such obsolete revolvers is greatly objectionable in that such system consists in the provision of the so-called half-cocking of the hammer, to which a firing pin is fixedly secured. For providing such half-cocking, the hammer body is provided with at least two notches wherein the upper and essentially sharpened end portion of the trigger can be engaged. One of such notches is pretty deep and positioned to maintain the firing pin slightly spaced from the cartridge primer when engaged by the trigger, and shaped for so engaging the trigger that the latter would be blocked in position. For full cocking the arm for preparing same to fire, the hammer must be manually acted upon so that the trigger will be disengaged from said one notch and caused to engage a firing notch, from which the disengagement can occur by acting on the trigger, and at which the hammer and the firing pin are positioned well spaced from the cartridge, so that the hammer can acquire the necessary dynamical force as biased by the main spring for striking the primer and promoting the firing.

The said half-cock notch on the hammer body and the rather thin and tapered upper end of the trigger lever are unavoidably structurally weak. An accidental blow on the external part of the hammer, the fall of the revolver on hard ground and so on, may well cause the firing pin to strike the primer and the arm will therefore accidentally fire. Such arm, either as originally produced or as newly manufactured in form of an exact replica of the historical arm, cannot be accepted by standards in force for actual using and firing of same.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an arm, namely an old type revolver of the character referred to above, with an improved safety mechanism which does not affect the external appearance of the arm and its firing ability, and which is not subject to the above and other objections as being capable of providing the most complete and efficient safety and protection against accidental or unduly firing even under most violent shocks and unaccurate handling of the revolver.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the invention, the firing pin is seated for lengthwise movement in a bore provided in the hammer for a distance such that said? pin can retreat within the hammer if said hammer is accidentally displaced from its half-cocked position to abutment on the arm breech body, so that such pin cannot forcibly strike the cartridge primer if such hammer would be accidentally displaced as above. Within the same hammer there are further guidedly arranged a second movable component which can be actuated to lock said firing pin in its advanced or operative position in the hammer, when said hammer is not half-cocked, for proper firing of the revolver, and a third component including the halfcock notch, positioned to be engaged by the triggers upper end when the hammer is conventionally halfcocked, and so engaging the said second component so that said second components unlocks and maintains unlocked the firing pin relatively to the hammer, when said third component is engaged by the trigger, that is the hammer has been placed and maintained in its halfcocked position. The new mechanism is complemented by suitable spring means biasing the various components for ensuring the proper operation thereof.

The various components of the safety device of the invention are wholly arranged to the hammer and therefore old and originally manufactured revolvers of the type considered can be readily provided with the new and safe device simply upon substitution of the old hammer with another one constructed according to the invention. The said components are concealed within the hammer, the external configuration of which is not modified. The use of the revolver, including the manner of placing the same on safety by manually halfcocking the hammer, is not modified with respect to the original arm, whose full historical value is therefore not spoiled, except for the improved safety of use resulting by the provision of the device of the invention.

These and other features and advantages of the invention will be now made apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of same invention, reference being made to the accompanying drawing, wherein only the parts, components and arrangement of interest for the invention have been il lustrated and evidenced, while the revolver has been fragmentarily and diagrammatically shown, as being well known and not forming a characteristic of the invention.

THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a fragmentary longitudinal cross-sectional view of an obsolete revolver of the type considered, provided with the new safety device, the arm being in its actual cartridge striking and tire position;

FIG. 2 illustrates a part of FIG. 1,, and shows how the new device acts when the hammer has been halfcocked in safety position; and

FIG. 3 is an exploded view illustrating the several components of the new device together with the parts (fragmentarily shown) of the arm, cooperating with said device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawing, wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the several figures, and wherein symbol associated to a numeral in dicated a portion of same component, while symbol 0 also associated to a numeral indicates the same component but in a different position.

In the embodiment shown, the new device is associated with a typical revolver as constructed in the second half of the XIX Century (or with a modern but exact replica thereof). The revolver includes a conventional cylinder rotatably supported in a revolver frame 12, having a rear breech forming portion 14. A tapered opening 16 (FIG. 3) is bored in said breech portion 14 for passage of the pointed fore part 18 of the firing pin, which is associated with the hammer, generally indicated at 20 (and which will be described in detail below) for striking on the primer (not shown) of the cartridge which, in the cylinder 10, is actually aligned with the barrel 24 of the arm.

The revolver comprises further a trigger 26, pivotally supported at 28 in the revolver frame, and having a nearly pointed upper end portion 30, designed to engage any of various notches or steps provided about the lower and approximately rounded portion of the hammer 20. Such steps comprise at least a firing step 32, which, when engaged by said end 30 of the trigger, maintains the hammer in its fully cocked position indicated at 200 in FIG. 1 and fragmentarily shown by dash-and-dot line. In such position, the hammer is considerably spaced from the breech, the main spring 80 is fully loaded, and the revolver is ready to fire, the firing being promoted by conventionally acting on the trigger 26 for disengaging its upper end 30 from said step 32.

According to the old construction, the said striking point-l8 is integrally formed with a firing pin, which is fixedly secured to the hammer. In some occurrences, such point 18 is a part integral with the hammer. In any case, in the old structure, the said point 18 follows the hammer in any movements thereof. Further, such point 18 projects forwardly from the hammer fore face 20 enough for forcedly striking on the cartridge primer well before said fore face 20' of the hammer 20 can abut on the rear face 14' (FIG. 3) of the breech portion 14, for ensuring the priming and firing. Actually, the said upper and fore face 20' of the hammer is not supposed to strike on the said rear face 14 of the breech, the violent forward motion of the hammer, when firing the revolver, being stopped by the abutment of the point 18 on the cartridge, before said striking, which would be greatly undesirable.

According to the invention, the said striking point 18 is formed by the fore tapered portion of a firing pin 40, which is not fixedly secured to the hammer 20, but which is lengthwise slidable in a bore 42 (FIG. 3) provided in said hammer. A weak spring 44 biases the firing pin forwardly, exerting a very small thrust thereon, and a cross pin or spine 46, engaged into a recessed part 48 of the firing pin, limits the lengthwise motion of said pin in said bore 42. The said cross pin or spine 46 and the recess are dimensioned and arranged so that said firing pin, if not otherwise restricted, can retreat within the hammer, overcoming the small resistance of the weak spring 44, for a distance greater than the interval D (FIG. 1) between the front face 20' of the hammer, when the striking point 18 is near to contacting the cartridge primer, and the rear face 14' of the breech.

The second movable component is provided for locking the said movable firing pin 40 in its forward position, for actual firing of the revolver. Said second component consist of an elongated piston or rod 52 slidably arranged in a nearly vertical second bore (FIG. 3)

provided in the hammer 20. Said second bore 50 intersects at its upper end the said first bore 42. A spring 54 biases said piston 52 upwardly, said spring abutting on a part appertaining to or associated with the hammer, for example, on the pivot 56 about which the hammer is pivotally secured to the revolver frame. At its lower portion, the second bore 50 communicates with a recess 82 (FIG. 3) provided in the lower portion and in the plane of symmetry of the hammer 20.

The upper end portion of said piston 52 is stepped at 58 and can abut on a rearwardly facing step 60 provided at the rear portion of the firing pin 40, when the said piston is at its upper most position of FIG. 1, for locking said firing pin in its foremost position at which, when the hammer has been released (from position 20a) by the trigger and swung in direction A (FIG. 1) by the main spring 80, said pin can strike with its point 18 on the cartridge primer and promote the firing. The piston 52 can be lowered in the bore 50, overcoming the resistance of spring 54, out from the first bore 42, thus unlocking the firing pin 40 and allowing the pin 40 to retreat in its bore 42.

The notch to be engaged by the upper end 30 of the trigger, when the hammer is half-cocked (and which is conventionally cut in the hammer body, in the original structure of such revolvers) consists, according to the invention, of a notch 62 provided at the lower end of a small third movable component consisting of a small lever 64 rotatably mounted in said recess 82 and pivotally connected at 66 to the hammer. Said small lever 64 has a shaped upper end portion 68 which engages an recess 70 provided on the side of said piston 52, the rotation of said lever 64 about its pivot at 66 causing a up and down motion of said piston 52 in its bore 50, into and respectively out of engagement with the firing pin. The said components and parts are arranged so that, by half-cocking the revolver, the said end 30 of the trigger engages the said notch 62. The small lever 64, however, which is rotatably in the hammer, does not prevent the hammer to further swing in direction A, until full abutment of the upper front face 20 of the hammer on the rear face 14 of the breech. Such further forward swinging of the hammer causes a clockwise rotation of the small lever64, which thus lowers the piston 52 in its bore 50, disengaging part 58 of the piston from the step 60 of the firing pin.

The revolver can be put on safety exactly as the historical original revolver does, by manually retreating the hammer and then slowly releasing the same while the trigger is being not acted upon, for engaging the trigger end 30 in the half-cock notch. Upon the provision of the new device of the invention, however, the various part will attain and maintain the position illustrated in FIG. 2, when the hammer will be fully released. The upper part of the hammer will fully abut on the breech (the most rigid and sturdy element of the revolver) and will positively resist a further forward motion, even under the most violent blow or shock. In the meantime, the firing pin, disengaged from the piston 52, will freely retreat overcoming the very weak spring 44, and cannot strike or caused to strike on the cartridge, as being fully enclosed and protected by other parts (hammer and breech).

For preparing to revolver to fire, the operation is also exactly corresponding to the conventional one. The hammer is manually rearwardly pivoted (in direction opposite to A) until full cocking and engagement of the trigger end 30 of the firing step 32. The small lever 64, not engaged by any other part, is free to rotate and does not prevent the piston 52 to be upwardly urged by spring 44 and to engage the firing pin 40, which has been moved forward by the weak spring 44. In such case, the various components provided and operating within the hammer will assume their relative positions shown in FIG. 1.

The firing is promoted by the conventional action on the trigger 26 upon disengagement of its end 30 from the step 32. The consequent pivoting of the hammer, in direction A and promoted by the main spring 80, is so fast that it will be completed while the trigger is still depressed and therefore the notch 62 of the small lever 64, retreated in the recess 82, as shown in FIG. 1, will pass free from the trigger end, in the same way as the fixed safety notch of an old revolver is not engaged by the trigger, when the revolver is fired.

The provision of the new safety device in an old revolver or in an exact replica thereof cannot be noticed at sight even upon a direct comparison between the old and the improved structures. The one and small difference which could be detected by an expert consists in the fact that in a revolver, provided with the new safety device and put on safety by half-cocking the hammer, such hammer actually contacts the breech while in the old construction the hammer is slightly spaced from the breech.

While one preferred embodiment of the device has been hereinabove described, it is evident that the invention is not limited to the details as shown and discussed, but that several modifications could be resorted to by those skilled in the art for best adaptation of same invention to the various specific structures and configurations of the hammer of the different obsolete firearms, both as original or their replicas, to which the in vention can be applied, without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A firearm of obsolete type which comprises a frame having a breech portion apertured for passage of a firing pointed tip adapted to strike upon a cartridge primer to promote firing, a hammer with which said firing tip is associated and biased by a main spring, a halfcocking notch on saidhammer and adapted to be engaged by an end portion of a trigger, and a trigger having an end portion temporarily engageable either in said half-cocking notch and in a full-cocking step preparatory to the firing,

wherein the improvement comprises a first movable component consisting of a firing pin having the said pointed tip formed at its fore end portion and movably arranged in said hammer from an advanced position in which said pointed tip can strike on said cartridge primer upon operation of said hammer from its full cocked position to a retreated position in which said pointed pin cannot strike on said primer even if said hammer is forwarded until abutment on said breech portion, a second movable component designed for either locking said firing pin in said advanced position and unlocking said firing pin for allowing such pin to retreat to said retreated position, a third movable component forming the said half-cocking notch and so engaging the said second component that said second component is moved in its firing pin unlocking position when said notch is engaged by the trigger upon half-cocking of the hammer, and movable components biasing means for returning said firing pin to its advanced position and said second component to its firing pin locking position when the said third component is disengaged from said trigger.

2. Action mechanism as defined in claim 1, wherein said first, second and third components are movably arranged within said hammer and located in the plane of symmetry thereof.

3. Action mechanism as defined in claim ll, wherein the said firing pin is urged towards said advanced position by a biasing spring so weak that its force is less than that required to act on the cartridge primer and promoting the firing.

4. Action mechanism as defined in claim 1, wherein the said firing pin is slidably and. guidedly arranged in a first bore provided in said hammer and the said second movable component consists of a piston slidably and guidedly arranged in a second bore provided in said hammer, and intersecting at an angle said first bore, and wherein said piston has an end portion projecting into said first bore when said piston is in its fir ing pin locking position, and the said firing pin has a stepped part abutting on said projecting portion of the piston and is locked by said abutment in said advanced position.

5. Action mechanism as defined in claim 4, wherein spring biasing means are provided for urging the said piston to have said end portion projecting into said first bore and locking the firing pin in said advanced position.

6. Action mechanism as defined in claim 4, wherein the said third movable component consists of a small lever pivotally supported in a recessed part of the hammer and having one end portion on the contour of the hammer body and another end portion projecting into said second bore, the said one end portion having the said half-cocking notch formed thereon and the said another end portion being engaged with said piston for moving said piston towards and into said firing pin unlocking position upon manual half-cocking of the hammer and engagement of the trigger in said half-cocking notch, the swinging movement of said small lever consequent to further forward movement of said hammer as urged by said main spring until abutment of said hammer on the frame breech portion, causing the said piston to unlock the said firing pin.

7. Action mechanism as defined in claim 6, wherein the said firing pin locking piston has a recess facing the said recessed part of the hammer and the said another end portion of the said small lever engages said piston at said recess thereof.

8. Action mechanism as defined in claim 1, wherein the said first, second and third movable components and the said biasing means therefor are guidedly supported and arranged into a hammer having the external general configuration of the hammer of the original obsolete firearm, so that the safety of said firearm of obsolete type can be improved by substituting a hammer provided with said components for the originally de signed hammer having the said striking tip fixedly secured thereto.

9. Action mechanism as defined in claim 8, wherein all said movable components and biasing means are mostly concealed within said hammer and all the parts projecting outside said hammer are concealed within the firearm frame when the said hammer is set at its frame when the said hammer has been released upon half-cocking thereof, and the said firing pin is retreated within such abutting hammer from its position in which same firing pin would strike on the cartridge primer and cause firing if locked in said hammer and if said hammer would be caused to violently approach its most advanced position for firing. 

1. A firearm of obsolete type which comprises a frame having a breech portion apertured for passage of a firing pointed tip adapted to strike upon a cartridge primer to promote firing, a hammer with which said firing tip is associated and biased by a main spring, a half-cocking notch on said hammer and adapted to be engaged by an end portion of a trigger, and a trigger having an end portion temporarily engageable either in said half-cocking notch and in a full-cocking step preparatory to the firing, wherein the improvement comprises a first movable component consisting of a firing pin having the said pointed tip formed at its fore end portion and movably arranged in said hammer from an advanced position in which said pointed tip can strike on said cartridge primer upon operation of said hammer from its full cocked position to a retreated position in which said pointed pin cannot strike on said primer even if said hammer is forwarded until abutment on said breech portion, a second movable component designed for either locking said firing pin in said advanced position and unlocking said firing pin for allowing such pin to retreat to said retreated position, a third movable component forming the said half-cocking notch and so engaging the said second component that said second component is moved in its firing pin unlocking position when said notch is engaged by the trigger upon half-cocking of the hammer, and movable components biasing means for returning said firing pin to its advanced position and said second component to its firing pin locking position when the said third component is disengaged from said trigger.
 2. Action mechanism as defined in claim 1, wherein said first, second and third components are movably arranged within said hammer and located in the plane of symmetry thereof.
 3. Action mechanism as defined in claim 1, wherein the said firing pin is urged towards said advanced position by a biasing spring so weak that its force is less than that required to act on the cartridge primer and promoting the firing.
 4. Action mechanism as defined in claim 1, wherein the said firing pin is slidably and guidedly arranged in a first bore provided in said hammer and the said second movable component consists of a piston slidably and guidedly arranged in a second bore provided in said hammer, and intersecting at an angle said first bore, and wherein said piston has an end portion projecting into said first bore when said piston is in its firing pin locking position, and the said firing pin has a stepped part abutting on said projecting portion of the piston and is locked by said abutment in said advanced position.
 5. Action mechanism as defined in claim 4, wherein spring biasing means are provided for urging the said piston to have said end portion projecting into said first bore and locking the firing pin in said advanced position.
 6. Action mechanism as defined in claim 4, wherein the said third movable component consists of a small lever pivotally supported in a recessed part of the hammer and having one end portion on the contour of the hammer body and another end portion projecting into said second bore, the said one end portion having the said half-cocking notch formed thereon and the said another end portion being engaged with said piston for moving said piston towards and into said firing pin unlocking position upon manual half-cocking of the hammer and engagement of the trigger in said half-cocking notch, the swinging movement of said small lever consequent to further forward movement of said hammer as urged by said main spring until abutment of said hammer on the frame breech portion, causing the said piston to unlock the said firing pin.
 7. Action mechanism as defined in claim 6, wherein the said firing pin locking piston has a recess facing the said recessed part of the hammer and the said another end portion of the said small lever engages said piston at said recess thereof.
 8. Action mechanism as defined in claim 1, wherein the said first, second and third movable components and the said biasing means therefor are guidedly supported and arranged into a hammer having the external general configuration of the hammer of the original obsolete firearm, so that the safety of said firearm of obsolete type can be improved by substituting a hammer provided with said components for the originally designed hammer having the said striking tip fixedly secured thereto.
 9. Action mechanism as defined in claim 8, wherein all said movable components and biasing means are mostly concealed within said hammer and all the parts projecting outside said hammer are concealed within the firearm frame when the said hammer is set at its safety half-cocked position, while when said hammer is in its full cocked position preparatory to firing, the fore end of said retractable firing pin is external and has an outer configuration corresponding to that of the fixed striking tip of the firearm of original obsolete design.
 10. Action mechanism as defined in claim 1, wherein the said hammer has an upper front face abutting on rear upper face of the breech portion of the firearm frame when the said hammer has been released upon half-cocking thereof, and the said firing pin is retreated within such abutting hammer from its position in which same firing pin would strike on the cartridge primer and cause firing if locked in said hammer and if said hammer would be caused to violently approach its most advanced position for firing. 